The present invention relates to a cover for use in connection with pipe insulation installed onto piping that operates at below ambient temperature. More specifically, the present invention relates to a fitting cover for use with a piping insulation system that includes integrated gasketing to insure an effective moisture resistant seal where the fitting meets the straight sections of insulation.
Pipe fitting covers for angled joints such as elbow joints, tee joints, etc. are already known in the art. There are a number of split jacket housing systems for pipe elbows having sections with overlapping connecting flanges and interengageable ribs and grooves. The difficulty is that pipe fitting covers of the type mentioned above being formed from a pair of semi-circular sections are disadvantageous because they have seams which may split or crack and thereby eventually leak. Unless the pipe insulation, especially at an angled pipe joint is tightly sealed, the pipe insulation customarily used around the pipe can fail due to moisture intrusion, causing undesired energy loss. The pipe system itself may also fail due to corrosion arising from the infiltration of moisture and resultant condensation under the jacketing surrounding the insulation.
More recently, with the development of thermoplastics and other flexible resilient materials, pipe covers have been constructed as one piece units to eliminate the seams of sectioned covers. As can be seen at FIG. 1, the single piece units are formed as a single integral structure having opposed ends which are folded about each other around the inner radius of the angled joint when the cover is wrapped therearound. As used herein, the term “angled joint” means any juncture of at least two pipes which come together at an angle with respect to each other. The most common examples are elbow joints and tee joints (pipes that meet at a 90.degree. angle). Such single piece covers have been made by Proto Corporation, Zeston, Inc. and Speedline Manufacturing Company.
In order to secure the cover about the angled joint, the opposed ends are folded over each other and secured together and to the underlying pipe insulation. Common means of securing the opposed ends together are adhesives or a pair of threaded tacks which are inserted into the opposed corners of the top end of the cover and then inserted into a corresponding portion of the bottom end.
These methods, however, have had limited success. Adhesives are disadvantageous because the opposed ends tend to separate from each other especially when the adhesive cracks due to the often severe temperature and humidity conditions in vicinity of the pipe joint. Further, where these covers overlap onto the adjacent straight sections of insulation, the application of a coating to seal the joint at these locations necessitates significant manual labor. Often the coating still can't be applied continuously around the pipe cover because of its remote location. As a result there is a need for a more thorough and less time consuming method for sealing these joints to prevent moisture infiltration within the system.
There is therefore a need in the pipe insulation industry to provide a pipe cover which is tightly secured about an angled joint and thereby overcomes the problems of previously employed pipe cover systems.